Working with wood has been passed down through several generations of Wightmans. It began in the mid-1800's with Edmund Wightman, followed by his son Dan, Dan's sons Charles and Cyrus, to the current generation, Charles' sons Dan and David.

Wightman Brothers lumber business was officially started December 5, 1945 by Charles and Cyrus. Cy Wightman brought to the business an Ireland sawmill, while Charlie contributed a Cleatrack Crawler tractor. With these two pieces of equipment, a dream and a lot of ambition and eagerness to succeed, Wightman Brothers came into existence.

The first job taken on by the newly formed partners was in the town of Laurens. Transportation to the job was Charlie's 1929 Ford Model A pickup; minimum wage was $.75/hr. During this time they had from 4 to 6 employees. Every facet of the operation was done by manual labor. After completion of the first job, the mill was moved to a woodlot in West Oneonta.

After the finishing mill fire, the decision was made not to rebuild on Crumhorn, but to purchase property in Portlandville from Howard and Doris Murphy, the site of an existing but unused sawmill. This became the first building on what is now the only location of Wightman Specialty Woods and Wightman Lumber & Building Supplies, Inc.

Business continued in both the Route 28 and Portlandville locations until the untimely death of Cyrus in February 1971, at which time the Route 28 mill was sold. In 1974, Charlie's sons Dan and David joined the business. It was at this time that the name changed from Wightman Brothers to Wightman Lumber & Building Supplies, Inc.

The situation for Wightman Lumber & Building Supplies, Inc. in 1974 was similar to that of Wightman Brothers in 1945: a father, Charles, and two sons, Dan & David, starting out with very little equipment, locating on a tiny site, and possessing meager resources except for that same dream and a lot of ambition and eagerness to succeed.

A local neighboring farmer named Fenton Rappleyea gave them their first break. He agreed to sell them some land to locate their sawmill. In March 1975 they sawed their first board at the sawmill in its present location. And the rest, as they say, is history.

As time went on, more land was sold by Mrs. Rappleyea and in turn her daughter, Lura Foster, to a grateful Wightman Lumber. In 1980 dry kilns were added to the operation, followed in 1984 by a new and much larger planing building. New equipment and buildings were added every year to keep up with the demands of the markets and customers, and to stay one step ahead of the competition in product quality and manufacturing efficiency.

Retail Sales Yard

December 1992 brought to an end the era of the founders with the death of Charlie. The torch had passed on to the next generation of Wightmans, already well versed in facing the challenges and ever-changing nature of the lumber business.

In 1994, with the manufacturing plant firmly established, the company began its first efforts in over 30 years to enter the forestry end of the business. Events had come full circle. With the purchases of forested acreage, responsible management of timber lands should ensure future raw material supplies for the lumber business known as Wightman Specialty Woods and Wightman Lumber & Building Supplies, Inc. for years to come.

The current owners, Dan & Dave Wightman

Phone: (607) 286-9201

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